Pinata breaking celebrations are quite popular in Mexico and in the Mexican communities of the southwestern United States. Pinatas are traditionally formed as a pot or container ornamented with colorful paper and filled with candy, nuts, confetti and/or token gifts such as small toys and the like. The pinata is suspended above a party area and at the appropriate time, and with celebration, it is broken so that the treats are scattered among the guests who in turn can keep whatever they collect. The usual method of breaking the pinata is by beating it with a club or cane and this is either done by a blindfolded child who is the subject of the celebration or by several children in succession, each given a certain number of turns in which to break the pinata. The traditional pinata is made of clay pottery and large falling fragments can cause injury to a young child. Modern pinatas are often made of papier mache, avoiding the dangers of cracked clay fragments, but such pinatas are generally quite difficult for young children to break.
The present invention provides a pinata which avoids the foregoing drawbacks. The pinata includes a bottom wall having an extended surface and side and top walls which cooperate with the bottom wall to define a substantially enclosed chamber whereby a plurality of small items such as candy, toys and the like may be carried in the chamber on the bottom wall. The bottom wall is formed with a central aperture sufficiently large for passage therethrough of a deflated balloon. The neck of such a balloon is secured by means of a string which passes through a top portion of the housing. When the balloon is inflated, the string serves as a suspension line whereby the pinata may be suspended from any convenient point. The suspension line and balloon hold the bottom wall in assembled relation with but free of direct attachment to, the side and top wall of the pinata. Accordingly, when the balloon is broken, the broken, deflated portions of the balloon can pass through the aperture in the bottom wall so that the bottom wall can fall away from the pinata.
In one embodiment, a pull line is connected via a rupture collar to the neck of the ballon internally of the pinata, and trails through one edge of the bottom wall to be suspended therefrom. In this embodiment, the rupture collar is a ring around the neck of the balloon formed with an internal pointed portion thereon so that when the pull line is tugged, the point pierces the neck of the balloon, rupturing the balloon. In this embodiment, a plurality of decoy lines of like construction can be provided extending a like distance from the bottom wall whereby to disguise the identity of the pull line. The guests can try to guess which of the many lines are decoy lines and which is the true pull line. In another embodiment, a pole with a small tack at the end can be used in an attempt to pierce the balloon. In either case, an enjoyable and stimulating pinata is provided. It will be appreciated that the only component which is broken from the pinata is the balloon. Therefore, one can utilize the pinata on many occasions with replacement required only of the balloon.